Roku to join voice-assistant race

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This Nov. 16, 2016 file photo shows the Roku Premiere streaming TV device in New York. Roku plans to add a voice-controlled digital assistant to its lineup of online video players in an attempt to catch up with Google, Apple and Amazon. (Patrick Sison/AP)

Roku plans to roll out a digital voice assistant this year, expanding its presence in homes and thrusting the video-streaming company into deeper competition with Amazon.com and Google.

The Roku Entertainment Assistant will be a free software update this fall for most Roku TV streaming devices, the company said in a statement Wednesday. The company already offers voice search to find what to watch, but the new technology will work with more gadgets and different content.

Roku is also licensing its technology to other companies so they can make audio devices that work on its operating system, expanding on an existing program for TVs.

The two new offerings will bring another collection of listening devices into people’s homes. For example, users will be able to say, “Hey Roku, play jazz in the living room” and an internet-connected speaker powered by Roku software will begin playing music, even if the TV is off.

While Roku is using its early start in video streaming to expand into new digital home experiences, the move means more competition with Apple, Alphabet’s Google and Amazon. Those technology giants offer video-streaming devices, voice assistants and smart speakers. Roku didn’t say if it will build its own Roku-branded speaker, beyond reference designs it plans to share with other hardware makers.

Roku’s shares have more than tripled since going public in September. It beat analysts’ sales projections in its first quarterly report, posting rising advertising revenue and active user numbers. More than half of Roku’s revenue comes from sales of its devices, though the company has been generating more from advertising and taking a cut of subscriptions for video streamed through its service. Roku said Wednesday it doesn’t expect licensing revenue from smart speakers to be material in the foreseeable future.